Triple Trouble
by Magemaster
Summary: X-over between NCIS, L&O: SVU, and CSI. Full summery inside. AlexOlivia, AbbyZiva, SaraCatherine
1. Chapter 1

**Triple Trouble **

I do not own NCIS, CSI, and L&O: SVU or anything else you may or may not recognize except for my OC's and the plot of course. FEMSLASH! AO, AZ, SC

For the purposes of this story, Ziva is no longer part of Mossad. Also, I do not own any of the actual restaurants I put in this story.

For future reference on how my main 3 OC's are related to Abby, Alex, and Sara:

A) Sara is dad's ADOPTED younger sister, therefore not a blood relative but still an aunt

B) Alex is mom's younger sister

C) Abby is their Dad's big sister

* * *

Abby rolled over and groped for her phone. It was late and Ziva had just gotten her to go to bed after their last case. The phone call was not a welcome interruption.

"Hello?" She muttered into the phone, not really listening.

"Am I speaking to Miss Abigail Sciuto?" Said the voice on the other end, sounding as if it was the last call the man wanted to make.

"Yea, this is her," Abby felt sleep returning quickly.

"Miss Sciuto, I'm sorry to tell you this but your brother and his wife were in a car accident. . ."

That got Abby's attention.

* * *

Sara looked up from the lap report Wendy had just handed her. She was being paged, which was strange in and of itself. Telling Wendy to give the results to Greg if she saw him before she did, Sara went to the front desk.

"Who had me paged?" She asked the receptionist, not seeing anyone.

"Two officers, Detective Brass is speaking to them." The receptionist pointed to the front doors where Brass was talking to two of his people.

"Hey Brass," Sara greeted as she joined the group.

"Are you Sara Sidle?" the female officer asked, glancing at Sara briefly before pulling out a small notebook.

"Yes," Sara answered warily, wondering what she had done to warrant a visit from the cops that had nothing to do with her current case.

"Miss Sidle," the male officer said, "there's no easy way to tell you this, but your brother was in an accident along with his wife."

"Which brother?" Sara felt dread fill her. _Please not Adam, don't be Adam_.

"Adam Sciuto," the female officer said. Sara sat down hard on the curb.

* * *

"Get the phone," murmured the blonde as she snuggled tighter into her brunette girlfriend.

"Hello?" she heard her partner say, more awake than the blonde since she was used to receiving calls this late. "No, she's right here. Alex, it's for you."

Alex took the phone and held it to her ear. She listened as the person on the other end told her that her older sister had been in an accident. She sat up quickly, demanding information. Once she was done, she handed back the phone to Olivia to hang up.

"What was that about?" Olivia asked softly, rubbing her thumb over Alex's hand.

"My sister was in an accident," Alex felt tears start their way down her face. "She didn't make it Liv."

Olivia gathered Alex into her arms and held her while she cried. She promised Alex that she would start getting things ready for their trip. Alex smiled up at her, grateful that she wouldn't have to do this alone.

* * *

Two days later, three women and their individual partners showed up at the only hotel in New Garson, Missouri. From there they went to the station house, where they actually realized the other two had been called.

The three women stared at each other. They didn't know why, but they hadn't expected to see each other. Their partners eyed the others warily, ready to intervene should a fight break out.

"Excuse me," the officer at the desk interrupted, "are you here for the Sciuto case?"

"Yes," all three of the women answered simultaneously.

"You need to sign in while I get Sheriff Frost," The office told them, heading to do so.

"I wonder why they called all three of us," Sara murmured, signing her and Nick, who had come with her, in. Adam and Abby's parents had adopted her just after she turned sixteen. She didn't technically have any right to be here.

"You know Adam would have us both down in case of emergencies," Abby replied, sighing her and Ziva in. "I doubt he expected this though."

Alex signed herself and Olivia in, "Elizabeth wanted all of us alerted in case something like this ever happened. "She wanted to make sure her girls would be taken care of."

Before they could continue talking, Sheriff Frost, a woman in her late thirties with graying brown hair and dressed in the brown uniform of her office, appeared followed by the desk officer.

"Am I speaking to Sara Sidle, Abigail Sciuto, and Alexandra Cabot?" She eyed the six people in front of her.

Alex, Abby, and Sara quickly identified themselves. Alex settled into the glare she normally reserved for Langan when she saw the look the sheriff gave Olivia and the woman who was with Abby.

"If the three of you will follow me, there are papers you need to sign concerning the deceased's' personal effects and such." The sheriff turned stiffly and the three women followed.

"If Sara went any stiffer," Nick commented, shaking his head. He had come as a friend, even though he knew Sara was interested in another of their colleges.

"Alex only looks like that in court," Olivia commented, staring at where her girlfriend had disappeared.

Ziva stayed silent, simply observing the other two. She sat down and waited. The other two followed her example. They stayed in the waiting room for several hours until their individual partners came out of the Sheriff's office.

Frost watched as they left. Once outside, Alex took charge.

"Olivia, these are my sisters-in-law Abby Sciuto and Sara Sidle. Adam is their brother." Alex paused, "This is Detective Olivia Benson, my girlfriend."

Abby and Sara followed suite, although Nick seemed the most at ease among them. He only made the comment that all of the beautiful women were gay. Sara elbowed him for it, but it eased the tension among them a bit.

"Where are we going now?" Ziva asked, eyeing her surroundings. She saw how the desk cop had stared at her, and she didn't like it.

"The hospital," Abby told her, "when they called me they forgot to mention that the girls had been in the car as well." The lab tech was fuming, and Ziva was glad that her glare was not aimed at her.

"Where is the hospital?" Olivia looked at Alex, who looked as lost as she was.

"It's in the next town over," Sara supplied, "New Garson has a small local clinic but that's all."

"So let's get going then," Nick headed down the street towards the hotel. "We should probably stay there, so that you guys are closer to the girls."

Sara smiled at Nick, grateful for his understanding. She followed his lead, as did the others.

It took a little over an hour for them to drive to Bull Ridge. Once they were there, they went straight to the hospital. Ziva, Olivia, and Nick had to wait in the waiting room.

Alex, Abby, and Sara followed the nurse to the children's ward where their nieces were. The three blondes were the only kids there currently, and only one was awake.

"Aunt Alex?" the lucid girl murmured, blinking at the sight of the blonde woman.

"Hey Kris," Alex said softly, placing alight hand on Kris's short locks. A bandage was wrapped around her head and her left arm was in a cast. Her chin had stitches holding it together. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Kris replied, "Are Gabby and Rey okay?" She tried to sit up to look around. Alex laid a hand on her shoulder and kept her lying down.

"They're on either side of you; Abby and Sara are sitting with them." Alex assured her. She took a quick glance at the other two girls. Gabby, the blonde with the longest hair that was out of her normal pigtails, had one leg in a cast along with stitches across her left arm. There was an eye patch over one eye, but the nurse had assured them that it was because of stitches along the girl's eyelid. Rey, the quietest one or the trio, had both arms wrapped tightly in bandages and a broken ankle. She had burns on most of her arms, having been nearest the car when it had begun to burn.

"Abby and Sara are here?" Kris swallowed, throat dry. Alex picked up the glass of ice chips that the nurse had left and gave Kris one. "Is Olivia here to?"

"Yes, she's waiting in the waiting room along with Ziva and Nick." Alex didn't know if the girls knew either of the two, but she wasn't sure how else to mention them.

"Okay," Kris closed her eyes. She was soon sleeping. Alex went to speak with the nurses and to try and find the doctor.

Several hours later, the three in the waiting room were allowed back with their partners. They had gone out and found something to eat, even managing to smuggle in some food for the girls. All three of them were awake now and glad to see adults who weren't strangers to them.

"Aunt Abby," Gabby looked at the aunt closest to her. "Where are mom and dad?"

All six of the adults went quiet, not aware that the girls hadn't been told about their parents.

"They died," Rey said softly, just loud enough for every one in the room to hear her. "That's what happened, right? They died when the car caught fire, or something like that."

"But Mom pulled us out," Gabby whimpered, suddenly scared.

"No," Kris shook her head, "I pulled you out Gabby. Mom was. . ." Kris looked down with her eyes squeezed shut.

"You all remember the accident?" Ziva asked them, flashes of the car crashes she had witnessed herself going through her own mind. They were not things a child should have to remember.

Gabby shook her head while Rey and Kris nodded. Gabby looked at her sisters.

"How come I don't remember if you two do?"

Rey shrugged, but only partially as her muscles pulled on her tender skin beneath the bandages. "Not all of it, I mainly remember Kris trying to drag me away and the car catching fire."

"I remember most of it," Kris said softly, "I wish I didn't." Tears made their way down her face. Alex and Olivia, being the two closest to the girl, offered what comfort they could. Alex actually sat on the edge of the bed and halfway managed to get Kris into her lap. Olivia sat beside Alex and softly copied how Alex would stroke the girl's hair.

Gabby opened her mouth to ask what Kris remembered, but Rey shot her a look and she closed her mouth. Since she had more use of her hands than either of her sisters, she asked Rey why she had stopped her. Rey glared, slowly mouthing the reason since her fingers were held more or less immobile by the bandages separating them.

Gabby uttered a soft 'oh' before looking down. She should have realized that was the reason Rey had stopped her. She leaned into Abby, who had climbed into the bed to sit beside the girl. On the other side, Sara had done the same thing with Rey.

"Aunt Sara, when can we leave?" Rey asked quietly, "We don't want to stay here any longer."

"I don't know," Sara told her honestly, "We still have a lot of paperwork to take care of, and you guys have a lot of healing to do."

"But we hate hospitals," Gabby murmured, "people die in hospitals."

* * *

Later that night, after an almost tearful goodbye at the hospital, each couple was in their individual hotel rooms. Nick and Sara were sharing the only double available. They were all having similar conversations.

When would the funerals be? _Where_ would they be? How much longer would they be able to stay? But the most important question of all haunted them: _what would happen to the girls_?

* * *

"I can do this Kris," Gabby insisted, leaning heavily on the crutches that had been placed beside her bed earlier that day. It had been a little over a week and a half since the day their aunts had come to see them. Since then Olivia, Ziva, and Nick had all returned to their homes and jobs while their aunts had stayed. Gabby used her crutches to hobble-walk to Rey's bed. Kris got out of hers and limped to join her sisters.

Kris was the oldest by thirty minuets, followed by Rey and the Gabby. Rey only had ten minutes on Gabby, but it was enough. All three girls had blonde hair, only varying in length. Gabby's was longest, reaching a quarter of the way down her back. Abby had brought in hair scrunchies so it was now washed and placed back into its normal pigtails. Rey's reached a little past her shoulder, long enough to be placed in a small rat's tail at the nape of her neck. Abby had made sure to bring in a plain hair tie for her as well. Kris's hair was cropped short and had only needed a brief wash and combing to fix it. She would wait to gel it into spikes once she and her sisters were out of the hospital. Their eyes were also matching, only differencing in shades of blue-grey that only their parents and aunts had been able to tell apart.

"What are we going to do Kris?" Rey asked, winching each time she moved her arms. The bandages had been changed and were now lighter as the skin had begun to heal. She wouldn't need any actual skin grafts as the doctors had first thought. They still hurt however, and the skin that was there was too fragile to hold a needle. All of her IVs and such were in her left foot.

"I don't know," Kris told them, "Obviously we're not going to be living here any longer."

"Do you think they'll send us into foster care?" Gabby asked quietly.

"No, but they might split us up if one of them can't take all of us." Kris said softly. "None of our aunts would send us away like that, and you know that they would hate to split us up."

"What if the government says that none of them can take care of us?" Rey, if she had been able to stand, would have had her arms crossed over her chest and leaning against the nearest wall.

"Alex is a lawyer, Olivia is a cop, Sara is a CSI level 3, and Abby is a lab tech for NCIS in Washington D.C.," Kris listed, "I don't see how the government could do anything about it."

"What about our friends here? What about Zaz, Zola, and Baloo?" Gabby asked, "Who will take care of them?"

"Zola will go with Kris, Zaz will come with me, and Baloo will go with you of course." Rey told Gabby calmly, "it'll be hard, but we'll get through this. Our friends will understand, and we'll make new ones wherever we end up."

"But I don't want to leave you guys," Gabby's eyes both weld up with tears and they fell to trace lines down her face.

"I guess the question is: who do we _want_ to take us?" Kris said softly, hating that they were planning their separation. They had never been apart for long amounts of time. They were almost always together.

"If we have to be separated, I think you should go with Alex." Gabby said, "That way, you have someone that can tell you how to be a lawyer."

"Gabby should go with Abby," Rey supplied, "She's the one that wants to join something like NCIS, that way she knows exactly what to expect. Plus, we know that you'll be safe. Ziva loves Abby, and she seemed to like you a lot. Not to mention you'll have Tony and McGee to annoy with your twenty questions a day."

"Then Rey, you're going to go with Sara?" Kris looked her younger sister in the eyes. "You know that would place you the furthest away."

"I know," Rey assured them, "but I like Sara a lot. You know I don't like crowding, and Sara doesn't like it either."

"Okay," Gabby said, although she didn't like the distance, "plus you get to be with someone who does what you want to do." Long ago, each girl had found things they liked to do, and their parents had told them stories of their aunts when they were younger. The similarities to their likes and dislikes were almost scary, and neither Adam Sciuto nor Elizabeth Cabot- Sciuto had been completely comfortable with their daughters deciding at eight what they were going to be when they were adults.

"So we're decided then?" Kris asked them. "We plan for the worst, and hope for the best?"

"Agreed," chorused her two sisters.

Arranging themselves carefully, with Kris in the middle as a pillow, the three girls fell asleep on Rey's bed.

* * *

"So it's decided then?" Olivia asked Alex on the phone around the same time the girls were settling into sleep.

"Yes, Sara and Abby agree with it, and we're working out visiting options." Alex, Abby, and Sara, to save money, had rented a room with two beds and a pull out sofa instead of three separate rooms. Sara was out getting dinner and Abby was in the shower, or at least in the bathroom.

"So I guess I need to look for a bigger apartment?" Olivia looked around the quiet apartment that was currently hers and Alex's home. It was fine for two people, but not five for any extended length of time.

"Yes, but it doesn't have to be that much bigger." Alex heard the shower start, "we only need another bedroom. The girls are used to sharing; you've seen their room in New Garson."

"Yea, but what about when they get older? Won't they want their own rooms then?" Olivia hadn't grown up with siblings, but she had had friends who had. One of their experiences had been sharing rooms with siblings instead of having their own spaces.

"We'll worry about that later." Alex sighed, exhausted, "Liv, I don't-"

"I know Alex," Olivia remembered how she was after she had lost her own mother. If Alex had been there, Olivia wouldn't have slept alone.

"Are you okay with this Liv?" That was Alex's greatest worry; that Olivia wouldn't want to have a girlfriend with three kids.

"Alex," Olivia said softly, "I'm fine with your decision. Do the girls know yet?"

"We're telling them tomorrow, when we go to see them." Alex told her. As they continued talking, the subject turned to what was going on in New York.

* * *

Abby sighed as she showered, frowning at how her discussion with Gibbs had gone. He wanted her back to work on Monday. It was Friday already, and the funeral wasn't until late Sunday. She didn't want to leave the girls just yet either. Ziva said she would try to get Gibbs to change his mind, but Abby knew Gibbs. The man was quite possibly the most stubborn man alive.

With how things were going, she would have to miss most of the funeral. They had decided, once they found that Adam and Elizabeth had bought plots in the New Garson Cemetery, to bury them at those plots. They would be burying the ashes of their siblings, since that was mostly what was left anyway.

The girls would be allowed to attend the funeral. If the doctor gave the okay, they would be able to leave the hospital that day as well. Abby was glad about that, since she knew Gabby had been serious when she said that they hated hospitals.

* * *

Sara walked the streets of Bull Ridge, thinking about Adam. He had befriended her from the beginning when she had started attending the same school he and Abby had. Six months later, when her foster parents were going to send her away for missing curfew by staying late at the library again, Adam convinced his parents to foster Sara. For her sixteenth birthday, they signed her adoption papers. Leaning the rudiments of sign language, which she had expanded with lessons from Grissom and later Rey when the girls were beginning to learn it, and living in New Orleans for the remaining of her high school years had made her appreciate what a real, permanent family was like.

Sliding her card key into the lock, she found Alex just hanging up her cell phone and Abby exiting the bathroom. Sara found it slightly strange not to see Abby in full Goth regalia, but her sister looked just as good in just black jeans and a black t-shirt with silver-white skulls on it.

"What did you get for tonight?" Abby asked, sitting on the couch. It wasn't much wider than her coffin, so she had claimed it.

"They don't have a single Asian themed restaurant in the entire city," Sara told them, since Chinese had been her goal. "So I got sandwiches from the nearest gas station, they looked decent enough to eat at least." She tossed the bag she was carrying at Abby, who caught it.

Rummaging around, Abby pulled out what was inside. A salad for Sara, since she was vegetarian, an Italian sub for Alex, and a Ham sub for her. Bottles of iced tea were passed out, and Abby sighed gratefully as she took a drink of the super-sized Monster® Sara had gotten for her.

"When do you two have to go back to work?" Sara asked as she sat on her bed. Grissom had called her, telling her that she had to be back by Monday.

"Gibbs said Monday," Abby said, laying down her sandwich. "Ziva's going to try to talk him into giving me more time, but it won't work."

"Grissom told me the same, although he, Nick, and Greg tried to convince Ecklie otherwise." Sara told Abby so that she knew she wasn't the only one who had to leave on short notice.

"My partner Casey is covering my case load, and Olivia is taking care of finding a new place for us and the girls. I don't have to be back until next Friday." Alex sighed, "Olivia is coming back to help me get the girls things from their house."

"What are we going to do about that?" Abby asked, "Adam and Liz owned it, and I think it goes to the girls once they turn eighteen."

"I'm planning on boxing up most of it; Olivia has a storage locker to put the things the girls want to keep for when they're older." Alex outlined the plan she had come up with. "Is their anything you guys want? I can send it to you once I'm finished."

Abby shook her head, "Adam's DVD and music collection, he spent a lot of time building it and I don't want to separate any of it."

"I just want the photo albums, that way they're all in one place." Sara spoke up, "I want to make up one just for the girls from them that they can take everywhere and add to."

* * *

The next day the three women headed to the hospital. They spoke to the doctor who agreed that the girls could be released before the funeral (which was more like a memorial service), as long as they were taken for a check up when they got to wherever they were going.

They found the girls awake and bandages being changed. Gabby no longer needed the eye patch, and the stitches had been removed. A small Band-Aid had replaced the stitches. Rey's bandages had gone from heavy to light, more a covering for the large amount of burn cream that was being applied to her arms than anything else. Kris's arm was in a sling and she was working on walking with a single crutch for her sprained ankle.

All three of the girls stayed silent, watching their aunts. They knew that soon they would know what was going to happen with them.

"Are you going to separate us?" Gabby asked, staring wide-eyed at the three women.

Sara let out a small laugh, "No, we aren't going to separate you three. What gave you that idea?"

"We figured that none of you would want to take us all in," Kris spoke up after a few minuets, "and we don't want to be placed into the system."

"That was a problem," Alex admitted, "but we came up with a plan so that you guys wouldn't have to be separated."

"You three will stay with me for half of the summer," Sara told them, "and Abby for the other half. We'll both come to New York for holidays and birthdays, and if we can't come we'll call or e-mail."

"So, we're going to live with Aunt Alex?" Kris asked, making sure she had understood correctly.

"Yes," Alex told them, "Zaz, Zola, and Baloo are already there and waiting for you three."

The conversation continued, outlining the move and the funeral. The girls were glad that they would get to leave the hospital the next day, and equally sad that Sara and Abby would have to leave right after the funeral.

* * *

In New York, Olivia was finishing her own packing. She had packed an extra bag for Alex, including the dress she had asked for. She carefully packed the packet of pictures she had taken of the place she had picked out, hoping that both Alex and the girls would like it.

"Hey Liv," Elliot stuck his head inside the room, "where do you want the boxes stacked?" Elliot had agreed to help with the move, and in order to keep the youngest Stabler kids out of Kathy's hair while she took care of little El, they were helping as well.

"In the living room," She picked up the bags and exited her room, "thanks again guys for helping with this."

"It's no trouble," Elliot assured her, "it gives me something to do while Cragen finds me a temporary partner." Olivia laughed at that.

"Just don't scare them away so fast," Olivia told him, handing him the keys and the like. Going over the details and making sure her partner had the map so he could get to their new place, Olivia said her last goodbyes to the kids and her partner.

* * *

Everyone was there to greet her when she got off the plane. The girls were eager to hear about what had been going on while she had been away. Alex was more interested in finding out what kind of place Olivia had found, something the detective had been closed lipped about.

Instead of a hotel, they had moved their base to the house. The house itself was packed up for the most part, with the things that the girls or the other women didn't want or need going to goodwill. Things like pictures had been split up between them and other relatives who had called to speak with the girls or had arrived for the funeral if they could make it.

What the girls and Alex were keeping was packed into a moving van that would hopefully meet them at the address Olivia had given the driver. Even though they were staying until later that week, furniture and such had to go ahead of them.

It was late that night, after the girls had gone to bed, that Olivia caved and showed Alex the pictures.

"Liv, this is a. . ." Alex trailed off; looking at the pictures of the outside of the house Olivia had picked on the outskirts of the city. It was two stories tall, with a good sized yard behind it that was fenced in. The pictures of the inside showed the actual rooms of the house.

"We can paint it if we want to," Olivia told her, "I thought the girls would like to have something similar to what they were used to, and we had talked about getting a house."

"I love it, but why such a large one?" Alex looked up from the pictures to look at her girlfriend.

"You mother helped with the size, and I swear she was muttering about expecting us to fill it up with more than three kids." Olivia was grinning, but she wasn't joking either.

"Do you really want more?" Alex asked, knowing how Olivia felt about passing on her genes.

Olivia went silent for a minuet, "yea, I really do. I mean, nothing right away, but maybe later on." Alex nodded, not wanting to say anything to ruin the moment.

* * *

The priest droned over the small caskets that held the ashes. Everyone either stood or sat around the grave site as the man spoke. Each triplet had an aunt behind them, and behind each aunt was their partner or teammate.

Catherine Willows and Ziva David had arrived early that morning, although neither Sara nor Abby had been expecting them. Particularly Sara, since she hadn't even thought Catherine had realized she had left.

Once the funeral was over every one slowly left. Adam's family that had come played loud Jazz music as they walked away, as was the tradition. Abby and Sara both grinned, knowing Adam would have been blushing to his roots if he knew. They had explained the tradition to the ones who didn't know about it, and the triplets particularly liked it.

"When do you guys have to go?" Gabby asked, being carried by Olivia since the ground was too soft from a recent rain shower for her to safely use her crutch. Kris and Rey were fine, since one rarely used hers anyway and the other had no need for one.

"We have long enough to get something to eat," Ziva answered, she had managed to get both her and Abby on the same return flight.

"So do I," Sara added in, "Cat, what about you?"

The strawberry blonde nodded, "I have time." Catherine had come partly because Ecklie wanted someone to make sure Sara actually came back and mostly because she had missed the brunette. Lindsey had wanted to come as well, but had already promised to go with her grandmother to Lake Mead.

"Great," Kris grinned and quickly signed something to her sisters. Rey answered slowly, since her fingers were still stiff from their burning. Gabby giggled and signed back just as quickly as Kris had.

"What are you planning?" Alex asked, staring at them carefully.

"We don't want to go to the wake," Rey told them, "so Kris suggested one of our favorite restaurants to go to instead."

"Shoney's," Gabby added, matching smiles with Sara. The woman had been sorely disappointed on not finding one upon her arrival in Vegas.

"That sound's fine with me," Olivia put in, not having been looking forward to spending more time with people she didn't know.

"So this is where you all disappeared to," Caroline Cabot joined them in their small group. "Everyone else has already left."

Alex looked at her nieces, "We've decided not to go to the wake, the girls a feeling crowded, and, truthfully, so are the rest of us."

"Oh good, so I wasn't the only one," Caroline agreed, "I'll just meet you all by the car then?" She turned and walked away, fully expecting them to follow her.

"Has she ever been to Shoney's?" Abby asked, watching as the woman walked away.

Alex laughed and shook her head, "No, but she's about to." She handed the keys to Sara. "You know where we're going, you drive."

Together they went to the van Olivia had rented to get around in. Sara drove to the nearest Shoney's, and the girls kept their grandmother entertained and distracted. Out of all of them, the Cabot matriarch was the one who was the most uncomfortable.

Luckily, once the girls all had food in them they started falling asleep. Alex and Olivia dropped the five leaving that night off at the airport before heading home themselves.

That Friday, the five of them headed back to New York.


	2. Chapter 2

Triple Trouble

Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not claim ownership over anything save for my original characters. WARNING: some derogatory language is used simply for effects, their use in no way reflects the opinion of the author

* * *

The summer had passed and they had settled into their new home with Alex and Olivia. Now, they stood at the front of their new classroom in their new uniforms. Instead of the normal girl version, Kris and Rey wore the male. Gabby stood between her sisters in the red plaid skirt, watching for anyone to say something about them.

"Class," the teacher stood behind them, "this is Crystal, Gabrielle, and Sara Cabot. Let's welcome them to St. Rose Academy." The other students chorused an obviously rehearsed welcome and the teacher, a young woman who looked like she would have been more comfortable with kindergartners instead of sixth graders.

Kris stepped forward, "I go by Kris. This is Gabby and Rey. Yes, we're triplets before anyone asks. We just moved to New York with our aunt and her partner. If you bother one of us, you bother all of us." Kris eyed the other students carefully, trying to locate the ones who would be likely to cause trouble for them.

"I'm sure that no one will cause any of you problems Kris," said the teacher and Rey's look was the only thing that kept Gabby from saying something. "Now, we sit in alphabetical order for the first nine weeks so you can sit in those desks there." The girls went to the desks that the teacher had pointed to.

The morning passed quietly, with the teacher (who they learned was called Ms. Knock) mainly going over review and passing out books. It wasn't until lunch that anything happened.

In the lunch room, the tables were separated by grade and class. The three sisters sat together at one end, switching items from their lunch boxes. A boy from their class approached them.

"Hi," he held out his hand, "I'm Sam Kennedy. Would you guys mind if I sat with you?"

Kris looked him over. He had dark skin with darker hair and pale green eyes. She grinned at him. "Go ahead, we don't mind." Gabby moved her lunch over so that Sam could sit beside her.

"Where did you guys move from?" Sam asked as he pulled out his lunch.

"New Garson, Missouri," Rey answered, "do you want to trade for my carrot sticks?" She held out the bag that Sam had been eyeing. He gladly traded his apple slices for her carrot sticks.

"Yes, my dads always forget that I don't like red apples." He happily munched on the carrot sticks.

"You have two dads?" Gabby asked, mimicking his face as she ate her own carrot sticks dipped in ranch dressing.

"Yea, is that a problem?" He looked at them warily.

Gabby shook her head, pigtails barely missing him. "All of our aunts are lesbians, as are their partners. Why should we care?"

Kris looked at him, "the other kids tease you about your parents?"

"Yea, but it doesn't bother me to bad." Sam finished his lunch and waited while the girls did as well. Some of the other boys came over.

"Well," said one who seemed to have a sneer permanently on his face, "looks like the fag found someone who'd speak to him."

Kris's fist tightened at her side. Rey took her things out of they way. Gabby grabbed Sam's arm and drew him away behind Kris, whispering to him the reason behind what they were doing.

"You shouldn't use words you can't spell," Kris told the other boy who looked annoyingly familiar, "much less speak them when you sound like a rat."

"You shouldn't insult rats Kris," Rey added, "it isn't fair to them."

"What do you know?" spit out the boy, going red in the face. "You're just a bunch of girls, you don't know anything!"

"He doesn't know us very well, does he?" Spoke Gabby, "Kris, do make sure that you actually leave the teeth inside the mouth this time." She turned away, "I personally refuse to waste my time with this cretin."

The boy turned to Sam, "letting girls defend you know fag? How low can you stoop?"

Sam tried to lunge forward but Rey and Gabby held him back. He was much heavier than Kris was, but they managed it.

"You shouldn't insult my friends Langan," Kris said softly, a gleam in her eye. "Of course, insults are the best the men in your family can do, isn't it? Surly your father can't do anything better." Kris turned and led the other three out. Langan's friends held him back from attacking the retreating foursome.

"You just made an enemy back there," Sam told her once they were outside on the playground.

Kris shrugged, "Gregory Langan was our enemy the moment we heard about him from our Aunt Alex."

"His dad isn't any better," Rey added, "worse, since he's a defense lawyer."

"Yea, but don't you _want_ to make friends?" Sam asked them all, surprise showing on his face.

Rey and Gabby looked at Kris, who only shrugged. "If bowing down to scum like that idiot back there is the only way to make friends at this school, then we'll ask Alex and Olivia to change schools."

Sam stared at them and then began to grin. He liked these girls, he liked them a lot. "Follow me; my friends are meeting under the tree. You can hang out with us if you want."

The girls looked at each other and nodded, following Sam to where another group of kids waited. Sam waved and ran to greet them, the girls' right behind him.

"Hey guys, this is Kris and her triplet sisters Rey and Gabby. Triple Trouble, this is Paul," he pointed to a chubby girl who grinned at them from behind her glasses who was also wearing the boy's version of the uniform, "Jason and Lee," a boy and a girl nodded as well, only their eyes and age giving away that they were siblings, "Amy, Christie, Justin, and Ricky." The last four were varied in skin tone, eye color, and hair color and length.

Paul walked around them and grinned, "Welcome to the Outcasts, I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Outcasts?" Gabby asked, perking up at the thought.

Christie explained, "We're the ones out of both sixth grade classes that no one will talk to so we all kind of banded together. No one wants to mess with a group, especially when our leader is the little sister of the leader to one of the biggest gangs in the city."

Paul rolled her eyes, "My brother and his friends are in high school and they formed a gang, so to speak, in order to protect the neighborhood from gangs who mean trouble. Why did Sam call you guys Triple Trouble?"

The rest of recess was spent retelling the story of what happened in the lunch room.

* * *

"How was school today?" Olivia asked the girls when she and Alex got home that night. She had already locked her gun and badge into the safe in her and Alex's room.

"It was good, though I think the teacher is stupid." Gabby said, "that or ignorant on how sixth graders actually act."

"We met Gregory Langan," Rey added, "do you think if we dumped 409® on him it would get rid of the slime?"

"We also met a group that calls themselves the Outcasts," Kris added in, "Sam introduced us. They're in the other sixth grade class."

Alex looked at Olivia, wanting to laugh at what Rey had asked. Olivia only shook her head and disappeared into the kitchen to start dinner.

"Gabby, don't jump to conclusions about people. Rey, I don't think 409® is strong enough. Kris, who's in this group you were talking about?" Alex went instead, also directing the girls to set the table and such.

Kris nodded and filled Alex in on what they had discovered at school that day. She finished with what Paul had said about her brother. "Do you know of a gang like that?"

Alex shook her head, "ask Olivia, she might know?"

Kris took off into the kitchen to ask. Olivia didn't know, but she promised to try and find out.

* * *

"TAG!" yelled out Gabby, running away from Paul who she had just tagged. Paul turned around and headed after Sam, snagging Lee along the way.

"Sam, up here!" Kris leaned out of the tree she was in, holding out her hand for Sam to snag. Sam grabbed it and Kris began to pull him up. Rey grabbed his other hand and helped.

"What are you two doing up here?" Sam asked, catching his breath.

"Neither of us wanted to play tag," Rey replied, "Gabby's enjoying the full use of her leg again." They had explained to their friend how their parents had died and why, at the very beginning of the year, all three had sat out during gym and most recess activities.

"You'd think she'd have had enough of that in gym," he commented, giving the two girls one of his wry grins.

Kris returned his with her own, "She loves to run. She was on the track team at our last school. Once the doctor clears her she'll try out for the one here after Christmas. Since Friday she's been going with Alex and Olivia when they jog."

"What about you guys?" Sam asked, standing on the branch so that he could move to a different one.

"I prefer gymnastics and karate," Rey replied, not looking up from her book. She was balanced on her own branch, looking as if a stiff breeze would knock her over.

"Softball, archery," Kris paused, "kickboxing, wrestling, kendo, and horseback riding." She straddled the branch she was on and leaned against the trunk.

"Do you get to do all that here?" Sam looked around, enjoying the view. He loved heights and wasn't shy about climbing anything he was allowed to and some that he wasn't.

"Some of it," Rey replied, "Grandma has stables at the Cabot Estate, so we all go there to ride. After Dad bought Kris and Gabby their bows, Mom convinced her to set up an archery range that they go to use. Since moving here, we've all kept up with what we know from our lessons in New Garrison and I know that Alex and Grandma are both looking for schools that hold lessons in things like that."

"We're going to join the school teams next year for the winter and fall sports," Kris added, "and the spring ones as well."

Sam looked at them in constrained awe. "I'm almost afraid to hear what else Gabby likes to do."

"Swimming, running, archery, anything that allows her to use her size to surprise opponents is fair game," Rey summed up, moving to jump off her branch. Kris followed while Sam climbed down.

"You're not allowed up there," Gregory Lagan stood, arms crossed, in front of them. His friends were arrayed behind him.

"And _you _are too afraid to face any one without your lackeys behind you." Kris bit back, mimicking his stance. The other Outcasts had joined them, outnumbering Lagan and his friends by three.

"So are you," he smirked.

Kris shrugged, "One difference between your _lackeys_ and my _friends_," she told him, "is that I don't need them behind me to give me the courage to face you. They're here to keep me from sending you face first into the ground."

Paul stepped up beside Kris, dwarfing the smaller girl. "She's right you know Gregory, we're only here to keep her out of trouble or to cheer her after she knocks you down a few pegs."

Gregory was red now, in both anger and embarrassment. "I still have something you don't," he sneered, "an actual family, unlike you who only have the people who took you in."

Lee and Jason hung on to Gabby while Christie and Ricky did the same to Rey. Kris stood stock still, Paul to her left and Sam to her right. Justin and Amy stood behind them. All have them either had two mothers, two fathers, one or the other, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, even older siblings raising them instead of the traditional parents. The insult wasn't just aimed at Kris; it was aimed at all of them.

"I told you in September, the very fist day of school in fact, that you should never insult my friends Lagan. Nasty things tend to happen to those that do." If Kris had spoken any colder, she would have frozen Lagan and his lackeys where they stood.

Paul motioned for the others to step back. She had seen what happened when Kris became like this. It was best not to interfere unless blood was drawn or Kris was out numbered.

Kris listened as Lagan taunted her again, sure that the girl was all talk. She let him finish before lunging at him. Two years of kickboxing lessons and wrestling at the local YMCA in New Garrison had placed muscle on her thin frame that was hardly diminished even by the inactiveness of her summer and the last months. Her fist landed on his jaw, causing him to fall into his friends.

Lagan's friends pushed him back up, chanting 'fight, fight, fight' over and over again, drawing a crowd from the kids. Lagan launched his own fists at Kris, who ignored if they hit her and just hit back harder.

By the time the teachers arrived, blood had been spilt. It took three teachers to pry the two fighters apart. Two were holding Lagan, Kris having stopped fighting the minuets she felt the teachers hands on her arms. Lagan had managed to land a punch on her nose when she did this, blood now running down her face.

"What is going on here?" Demanded Ms. Knock, shocked at seeing two of her students fist fighting.

"She started it," Lagan started instantly, his friends quickly agreeing with him. Paul shook her head.

"It's both their faults," she said calmly, knowing that her friends expected nothing but the truth from her. "Gregory was taunting us, even though Kris has told him many times not to do so and not to mess with her friends as well." She paused as Lagan's friends denied the words. "He finally insulted not only Kris, but also all of us and our families. Kris took it personally and hit him. Lagan hit back to the encouragement of his friends. None of us said anything." It was true; Amy was the one to get the teachers.

"However this started, the both of you are going to the principle's office." Ms. Knock told them, "The rest of you go back to class."

The students left, and after thanking them the teachers followed. Ms. Knocks took both fighters to Mr. Gait's office.

Mr. Gait was a stern man who accepted few excuses. He ordered the nurse to clean the two students up before speaking to them. While the school nurse did so, he called their guardians.

Alex was in court, so Olivia came to see what Kris had done to warrant a trip to the principle's office. When she arrived, she grimaced at the sight of Trevor Lagan. The defense lawyer was standing beside a boy who looked almost like a mini version of him. If Kris had done that to the kid, he must have done something stupid.

Kris was sitting holding an icepack to her eye and a tissue to her nose. The bleeding appendage had just begun to stop bleeding. She looked at Olivia uncertainly, not knowing how her aunt's partner would react to something like this. Hell, she didn't even know how her aunt would react to this.

Olivia crouched down and calmly removed the icepack to reveal a brilliant black and blue bruise around her eye and the cheek under it. Her nose had stopped bleeding now, but it was still tender to the touch. She was glad that it hadn't broken.

"Who threw the first punch?" Olivia asked, replacing the icepack.

"I did," Kris admitted, "but he started the argument before I got mad enough to actually hit him."

"I figured that one out," Olivia told her, "where are your doppelgangers?"

"Back in class along with Sam and the others," Kris tried to grin but her lip reopened. Olivia dabbed at it to stop the bleeding.

"They didn't help?"

"No, none of his lackeys jumped in to help him so none of my friends helped me. We at least fight fair." She tried to turn to glare at the boy who was spinning quiet a different tale to his father. Her head stopped her, as it pounded from where she had hit the ground a few times during the fight.

"Headache?" Olivia helped her stand as Mr. Gait motioned them to come into his office.

"Detective Benson, Mr. Lagan, I'm sorry to have to call you here. As you have both undoubtedly been informed, these to decided that they would have a fist fight during recess. Neither has said what caused the fight, both opting to wait until you each arrived." Mr. Gait looked sternly at the two sixth graders. "From what Ms. Sanders has told me, Kris threw the first punch, but Mr. Lagan originally instigated the argument that led to the fighting."

"Kris started the whole thing Mr. Gait," Gregory started instantly. My friends and I were only trying to join their game of tag."

Mr. Gait looked as if he wanted to ask the boy if he wished to try again, but turned to Kris and waited for her comment instead.

"He came over to our group just after Sam Johnson, Rey, and I climbed out of the tree where we were hiding away from those playing tag. He started making comments that we weren't allowed to climb the trees and such. I told him that he was to afraid to face anyone without his lackeys behind him." Kris took a breath, "He shot back that I was the same and I informed him of the difference between my friends standing behind me and his lackeys standing behind him. Paul agreed with me, and then he insulted our families."

"How did he do this Ms. Cabot?" Mr. Gait was interested now, since he did not allow prejudices at his school, any student caught acting in such a manner was severely punished.

"He said that he had a normal family, something none of us technically have." Kris admitted, "He's used such words before, but usually he didn't bring all of us into it. I told him on the first day of school not to mess with me, my sisters, or our friends. It's in my transcripts."

"That's true," Mr. Gait said, "and you were warned as well that we do not accept fighting on school grounds. We strive to use words instead of fists here."

"Words weren't working," Kris replied, "and most people don't hit back." Gregory looked pleased at this, "Of course, most people also stop hitting once someone else grabs them instead of hitting a held opponent."

Gregory tried to refute this, but Mr. Gait had already spoken to some of the students watching as well as the teachers who had broken up the fight. He knew who was telling the truth, and Kris at least was taking the blame for her actions.

"Very well, the both of you are suspended for the remainder of the week." He held his hand up as Trevor Lagan tried to interrupt. "I want you both the think on better ways to deal with the problems between you both. Any more fighting had best take place outside of school grounds, although I hope this serves as a lesson to you both."

"Yes sir," replied Kris, knowing that for the next three days she was probably going to be grounded to their bedroom with chores to do outside of it. The weekend was anyone's guess.

"Yes Mr. Gait," replied a sullen Gregory, who looked as if he was more put out that he wasn't going to be believed than his actual punishment.

They all left the office, Olivia asking to remove Gabby and Rey from the rest of their classes for the day.

Once all four of them were in Olivia's car, she drove back to the station house. They could stay with her until Alex was finished in court.

* * *

"Hey girls," Elliot greeted, "who won the fight?" He ignored Olivia's glare.

Gabby grinned, "Kris did," Kris shook her head, winching as the movement irritated her headache.

"No, I didn't. The fight wasn't even worth the energy it took to fight it." Kris sat down in one of the chairs Olivia dragged up to her desk. She gladly took the Tylenol Munch sat down in front of her with the water Olivia had already gotten her.

"Still," Gabby tried to insist, "We all think you won it. You were like the knight in shining armor coming to save the day. You were defending your family and friends. If that's not what a knight is supposed to do, then heroes in general aren't worth very much, are they?"

Rey shook her head at her sisters, Kris having her head down in embarrassment and Gabby daring anyone to disagree with her.

"No, they wouldn't be worth very much." Rey agreed, "I highly doubt that Lagan will bug us for at least a little while. He is the lowest form of human life after all."

Munch looked at Olivia's niece in curiosity. "What's your definition of the lowest life form?"

All three of them chorused the same thing, "defense lawyers and their spawn."

It took a few seconds, but the detectives laughed at the deepest belief the girls had in their statement.

* * *

"She _fought_ him?" Alex asked again, just so that she made sure that she understood what Olivia was telling her.

"Yes, Kris fount Lagan Jr.," she paused, "and she owned up to both it and the reason why she did it."

"Why did she fight him?" Alex looked into the room where all three of the girls lay sleeping.

"He insulted pretty much everyone she knows," Olivia told her the condensed version. "She's been suspended for the rest of the week by Mr. Gait along with Lagan's son."

"Did she win?" Olivia looked at her in shock. "What? If she has to fight someone, I want her to win."

"Kris doesn't think she did, but Gabby says she did." Olivia admitted. "What are we going to do with her for the rest of the week though?"

"Kris can stay in my office with me when I'm not in court. Casey will probably watch her for awhile if I can't."

"If she has to, she can stay in the crib or at my desk in the bull pen." Olivia took one last look at the three girls and closed their door. "I'd prefer if none of them had to be there though."

Alex nodded, understanding why Olivia wouldn't want any of the girls in the SVU squad room. "That's alright. We'll work it out. What about our side of the punishment?"

"I told her she was more or less grounded from all extra activities until Saturday when we go up to your mom's."

"That should be enough," Alex paused. "Will Gabby or Rey be able to bring her work home?"

Olivia nodded, "they both plan on doing so. Kris will have enough to do to keep her busy."

* * *

"Who are you?" Kris looked up from her math homework. A man stood in the doorway, having just barged into her aunt's office.

"It depends," she told him, "who are you and what do you want?"

"You shouldn't be here," the man told her, annoyed. "Where's ADA Cabot?"

"In court, ADA Novak is across the hall." Kris told him, equally annoyed. "Of course I should be here. My aunt told me to stay put until Detective Benson came to get me."

"What is going on here?" Casey Novak glared at the man standing in her way. "Charles, what are you doing in Alex's office?"

The man, Charles, turned to look at the slightly shorter ADA. "I'm looking for Cabot. She's prosecuting client of mine and I need to speak to her about the case."

"She's in court," Casey glared, "if you want to speak with her, make an appointment."

Seeing that he wasn't going to get what he had come for, he sneered. "Does Cabot realize that a midget has invaded her office?"

Casey's glare surpassed his. "That girl probably knows more about New York law than you do," she snapped, "now leave."

The man left, grumbling the whole way. Casey turned to Kris, who was snickering behind her hands. Her face was red, but Casey couldn't tell if it was embarrassment or holding in her laughter.

"What are you doing in here?" Casey came over to see what the girl was doing.

"Math homework," Kris sighed, "until the defense slug disrupted me at least. Do you know when Alex is coming back?"

Casey shook her head. "No, court could go on for a while. Opening arguments started today, and Lagan always wastes words."

Kris grimaced. "Alex can beat him."

"I know," Casey grinned, "do you want to join me for lunch?"

Kris shook her head. "Olivia is supposed to be coming to get me soon so that I'm not here by myself for much longer. I'm in enough trouble as it is."

"Olivia called me," Casey told her, "she and Elliot got called out to a scene. She asked if I'd watch you for awhile."

"Okay then." Kris shut her book and stood up, gathering her things into her bag. "Is Ms. Serena going to join us?"

Casey blushed a bit, swatting the back of Kris's head when the twelve-year-old grinned. "Yes, she's waiting for us at the deli."

* * *

"Who gave you the black eye?" Serena Southerly stared at the short blonde that walked beside her girlfriend.

"A boy at school," Kris told her, "but he looks worse."

"What boy?" the former ADA asked as they sat down in a window booth.

"Gregory Lagan," Kris informed both women, "but I hit him first."

"Alex told me this morning when I asked her why Kris was with her instead of at school." Casey told Serena when the blonde saw that the red-head wasn't surprised at this bit of information.

"Why did you hit him?" Serena asked, receiving the whole story in response. She listened, nodding at the end. "Are you sure you don't want to be a cop?"

Kris shook her head. "I like law better," she insisted. "It's more or less stable and helps keep things in order. Plus, it makes sure that bad people are put where they belong." Neither woman had the heart to tell the girl that the law didn't always work that way.

They ate lunch, speaking of other things that were going on at school and the coming holidays. They were excited, Kris told them, because Abby and Sara were coming up to visit for the entire Christmas break.

Casey looked up. "That reminds me, what are your full names?"

Kris looked surprised, but quickly answered. "Crystal Alexandra Cabot, Sara Rey Cabot, and Gabriella Abigail Cabot, were each more or less named after one of our aunts."

"Does this mean that Alex's middle name is Crystal?" Serena grinned in preparation for this new knowledge.

Kris shook her head. "Nope. Only Rey's first name and our middle names are obvious."

"What would it take to get you to spill?" Casey asked casually.

Kris shook her head, "I'd have to deliberate with the other two members of the jury before a verdict can be reached."


	3. URGENT

Make sure to copy and paste the petition below to make it your own story... We need this petition going around through everyone who is an active member on FF.

The administrators are, as of June 4th, going to be taking down Fics that have lemons or have extreme violence. Now I don't know about you but I think that's stupid. There are many wonderful fics that only have one or two lemons in them yet the plot itself is awesome! You can't just take down a 100,000+ word fic just because it has a lemon in a chapter that is only 1000 words long. Now I urge you all to read the petition below, sign it, and repost this to your own fics. Hopefully if we make enough noise everything will return to normal. Thank you.

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many others, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply hasn't been added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be losing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

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